Program: LOVE
by ritez4fun
Summary: Another ELSWORD Love Story. Overall Eve X Raven. Eve becomes obssesed with this new concept called "love." Will she learn to understand love? Will her understanding bring more new discoveries? Rated T for some mature content.
1. Curiosity

Starring

Elsword (Rune Slayer)

Rena (Grand Archer)

Aisha (Void Princess)

Eve (Code Empress)

Raven (Blade Master)

(Disclaimer: I do not own "Elsword" or anything associated with the characters or game itself. All rights belong to KOG'.)

This story takes place after "A Very Merry Wally's Castle Christmas."

Eve's technological mind raced while she lay in bed motionless, constantly listening to the playback she recorded of Rena's remark about something called... love. "Love has many different forms, different ways of being shown." Eve's mind was trapped in intense thought, trying to figure out what Rena was talking about. It was like she was speaking a whole new language. "Searching... LOVE. Definition: a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. A feeling that softens one's emotions and quickens the heart rate. Sexual passion or desire. A feeling causing one's cheeks to turn red (blush)." She the pulled up numerous video recordings of Elsword and Aisha's interactions. Aisha having Elsword in headlocks, Elsword tugging Aisha's hair, and seemingly endless arguments that were ended abruptly by Rena kicking the two of them across the face. What did any of this have to do with "profound, tender, passionate affections?" Her drones struggled to transmit all the information she was demanding to be shown, mainly because she was requesting "anything and EVERYTHING ascertaining to the feelings and effects of love." Medical sites, romance movie clips, and of course, the occasional, err, porn website. But nothing she saw explained why Elsword and Aisha kissed so passionately the night before last. They HATED each other. At least, how it seemed.

"Hey, Eve! Keep it down!" Elsword shouted from the bunk bed below, sounding polite as possible. Without realizing it, Eve had been shouting out conclusions she was assessing for the past 3 hours on accident while buried so deep in thought. "My apologies, Elsword."

"Yeah, yeah. Just go to sleep." He grumbled.

So she did.

-The Next Morning-

Everyone gathered for breakfast at the inn, and Rena looked over at Elsword while she was busy cooking, with Aisha and Raven helping.

"Goodness Elsword, you look awful! Did you sleep alright last night?" she asked.

"Not really." he growled. "Eve was babbling most of the night."

"Oh really? That's quite unlike you, Eve. Is something wrong?"

There was a long silence. Eve was focused once again on "love," resuming what she was working on last night.

"Eve? Eve!" Rena said impatiently. Still no response. Elsword, in a cranky mood, is bugged even by something bugging someone else. He got right next to Eve's ear and...

"HEY ROBO-BRAIN! WAKE UP!"

He soon found himself flying through the wall of the inn after being brutally slapped by Eve. Elsword often forgets that interrupting Eve when she's thinking can have painful effects. "Brutish insect. How dare you shout at a Queen!" Eve had relived the emotion she felt when woken from her slumber when Elsword and the gang first met her; Anger.

"U-Uh... yes well, ahem. Eve, I was asking you if you are alright. It isn't like you to be so... spaced out." Rena continued.

"May I converse with you privately, Rena? Your knowledge on the subject love is needed."

Aisha and Raven gazed at Rena with an awkward expression on their faces.

"You mean... love advice?"

"Affirmative." Eve said.

Aisha began laughing, but was stopped abruptly by Rena drop-kicking her, forming a crater in the ground.

"Sure. Raven, can you manage the rest of breakfast?"

"Sure. Whatever." Raven sighed.

He noticed Eve staring at him, blushing. But he dismissed it.

"Really?"

"Well, it's not like anything is different. Elsword's buried in rubble, there's a hole in the wall, Aisha's face is drilled into a crater; far as I can tell, it's just a normal day."

"Y-Yeah..." Rena giggled nervously. "Do you want to talk now Eve?"

"I do not really care. But I'd slightly prefer we converse on this topic after breakfast. Do you mind?"

Rena gave a small sigh. "No, not at all. I guess I'll be able keep helping you cook, Raven."

"Fine. Whatever. But I don't think we'll be able to manage with just 2 people. Do you mind helping at all, Eve?"

"Negative." Eve stated. Rena's eyes caught a glimpse of Eve's face.

"Great. Start cutting up that cilantro into tiny pieces please."

Eve proceeded to the cutting board, and began helping breakfast along, with her drones retrieving utensils. _Just a moment ago, when Eve was looking at Raven..._ Rena thought. _D-Did I see Eve's face... blushing?_

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	2. Confession

Breakfast was finally done. Bacon, eggs, ham, potatoes, orange juice, and toast. But due to Eve's lack of attention, the toast was a bit charred. Thankfully, it didn't go to waste; Oberon and Ophelia gladly ate "Her Majesty's kind offering."

"How can they eat burned toast?" Elsword asked.

"My guardians were, unfortunately, not given the gift of taste during they're construction. I had only given them what was necessary for my protection and their secondary battery. Organic life forms take energy from the foods they eat, so a backup battery that extracted nutrients from foods and converted them to energy was installed during their construction." Eve explained.

"Wow! So is the battery itself shaped like a stomach?" Aisha joked.

"No. Unfortunately, Nasods like myself were not programmed with an understanding of 'irony'."

"That explains why your sense of humor is so shitty." Elsword grumbled.

He noticed Eve slowly raising her hand, fully ready to bitch slap Elsword. "AAAH! NO! PLEASE, DON'T! I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!" he begged. He then got to his hands and knees, begging for mercy. "Apology acknowledged. Though unaccepted." He let out a grand sigh of relief. He sat back down in his seat. Aisha was desperately trying to not laugh at the ridiculous spectacle that had just occurred. Elsword glared at her. She couldn't contain it anymore, and let loose uproarious laughter.

"Oh, shut up!" That's all Elsword could think to say. But Aisha kept laughing, and Elsword's face turned as red as his hair. When Aisha's laughter finally died down, everyone was finished eating. "You guys ate so fast! What's your hurry?"

"Actually, we didn't eat that fast. You just sat there laughing like a hysterical idiot." Raven said. He kicked up his feet and reclined in his chair, satisfied with the morning meal. "I'm gonna catch some Z's."

"Okay. I'm gonna finish, err, start eating." Aisha said.

Everyone was now busy. Aisha was eating, Raven was napping, and Elsword was training. "Eve, do you want to talk now?" Rena asked.

"Yes, Rena. That would be fine."

"Alright. Aisha, Eve and I are gonna go talk!" Rena yelled.

"Kay then! See ya later!"

Rena and Eve walked through the lush forest. "Eve, what has made someone like you so keen on love?"

"The occurrence at the Christmas Party 3 nights ago."

"You mean when Elsword and Aisha kissed under the mistletoe?"

"Affirmative. Your explanation of what the concept of love involved sparked the emotion known as 'curiosity' within me. Love seems like an incredibly rare and pleasant experience, based on the resources I encountered when researching love the previous night. I came across types of love, of which you said there were many. First sight, deep connection, and many others. Although, none of the various types were in any way associated with Elsword and Aisha. The way they behave towards each other is evidence of hatred, the technical opposite of love. I restate my previous inquiry; why did they kiss so passionately that night when they make it apparent that they just plain don't like each other?"

Rena had to stop walking and think for a while. She's never seen Eve so interested, so curious. It was obvious Eve desired further clarity, not just another off-the-top-of-the-head answer.

"Well, there's the 'Opposites Attract' theory. I'll try and use more technical terms to help you understand. Errr... uhmm... OH! You know how magnets work, right?"

Eve just stared at her, and Rena could tell it was one of those _Do you think a Nasod, a highly advanced mechanical life form, would be so stupid as to not know how a magnet works?_ looks.

"Err, right, sorry. Well, let's just say that human emotions are like magnets. Interchanging magnets. While Aisha and Elsword appear to be magnets of the same polarity, at least one of them is able, or is allowed to change its polarity to attract instead of repel. When the two of them were preparing to kiss under the mistletoe, they hesitated, or for this analogy, were repelling each other. But once their lips touched, Aisha had reacted in a way that caused her 'polarity' to change to the opposite 'polarity.' But Elsword still reacted as if their 'polarities' were the same. When Aisha stopped him from breaking off the kiss, he had detected the change in Aisha's 'polarity' and reacted the way to which magnets of opposite polarities would react. And that's what 'Opposites Attract" means."

Rena had to stop a moment and catch her breath. She was only used to talking that long when yelling at Elsword and Aisha. Eve had now fully understood what Rena meant when she said "love has many forms."

"I see. I appreciate your explanation, Rena. It has been most helpful." Eve turned to leave, but Rena remembered what happened earlier that morning. "Eve, wait!" Rena called out. Eve stopped walking.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Is there any other reason you wanted to talk about this?" Rena asked.

There was a long pause. Eve just stood there, completely still, staring at the ground.

"Because I watched you earlier this morning talking to Raven. You seemed almost happy just to be spoken to by him, and when you looked at him, I noticed you were... blushing."

"Oh, was I? I had no prior knowledge." She was lying.

"Eve, you're a terrible liar, so tell me honestly..." Eve began trembling, almost certain of what Rena was about to ask.

"Eve... are you... in love with Raven?"

There was an even longer pause. Rena was staring at Eve intently, and Eve simply stood stiff as a statue, her eyes fixed on her feet, and her face was now extremely red. Eve had no excuses. No way out. So she said the only thing she could say.

"Y-Yes..."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	3. Breaking Point

There was a long silence between Rena and Eve. Rena was simply staring at Eve with bewilderment. Eve just kept staring at the ground, blushing. She was now feeling a multitude of emotions. An unbearable combination of anger, fear, sadness... it was inexplicable. She was now violently trembling. "Eve... I... can't believe it! I'm so happy for you!"

"W-Why?" Eve asked, with a bit of a sniffle.

"Because you're feeling something that very few people get to feel. It's part of being human."

"I comprehend that... but... I'm not human. I am the Nasod Queen. I shouldn't feeling this way! I SHOULDN'T. FEEL! ANYTHING!" Eve screamed at the top of her lungs.

"But Eve, emotions give people a way to communicate on a very special level. Are you angry because you have feelings?"

"I SHOULDN'T HAVE FEELINGS AT ALL! I AM NOT A HUMAN! I AM A NASOD!" Eve was now practically hysterical. She'd lost it and Rena could tell it wasn't going to end well.

"I understand how you must be feeling right now! I understand you must be very confused and upset! But I implore you Eve, calm down! You have to..."

"STOP! CALMNESS IS AN EMOTION! I DON'T! HAVE! EMOTIONS!"

"Yes you do! But you must get them under control!"

A spear burst forth from the ground and missed Rena's head by just a millimeter. The world stopped and the air was still. Nothing but silence. Rena fell backward. One of her best friends had almost killed her. Rena just sat there, staring at Eve in utter disbelief. Eve looked up and saw what she had done. Eve began to cry quietly, staring right back at Rena. She almost killed her best friend.

"C-Code... EMPRESS... m-malfunction..." She sobbed to herself. "R-Retreating to safe location... for... self r-repair..."

Eve ran off into the woods. It was now late in the afternoon and lunch was long over. But Rena was too preoccupied to even notice she was hungry. When Eve was far out of sight, she got up a ran with all her might back to the inn.

~BACK AT THE INN~

"I wonder what's taking Eve and Rena so long to get back." Aisha said. "They should have been back hours ago."

"Normally, I'd make a witty remark, but to be honest, I'm a bit worried, too." Elsword confessed, lazily twirling his sword. Rena burst through the doors, knocking them off of their hinges.

"We have a serious problem!"

"W-What's wrong?" Aisha exclaimed.

"It's Eve. We were talking and... I must have gone a little far in our conversation somehow. She's lost control. She ran off into the woods. And I feel she wouldn't want to see me."

"Well, then I'll go." Elsword offered. Rena just stared at Elsword, wondering if he was joking. "You legitimately believe Eve will want to see YOU?"

"Point taken."

Rena thought for a moment, and got an idea. "Raven, maybe you should go talk to her."

"What? Me? What for?"

Rena whispered something in his ear. His eyes widened and he blushed a bit. "A-Are you serious?" he asked. Rena nodded. He stood quietly for a moment, and with a grunt, left the inn. "What did you tell Raven?" Aisha asked. "I'll tell you when this is all over, all right?" Both Aisha and Elsword nodded understandingly.

Raven began trudging through the woods in the direction Rena described. "Dammit..." he thought to himself.

"How could I be so blind?"

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	4. The Calm of Night

Eve sat alone on the edge of Bethma Canyon, the dividing line between Elder and Bethma. She stared at the sunset, still crying. She clung strong to her drones, embracing them like a child would with a stuffed animal. "T-too… much…" she whimpered. "Emotion code n-not… present… reason for… distress… inexplicable… too much unexplainable 'emotion'…"

She then heard a rustling in the bushes behind her. "Leave me be, Rena. I am unstable and do not wish to hurt you…" she sobbed. She was surprised to hear a gruff voice say "It's not Rena." Her head spun behind her to see Raven. Even more to her surprise, Raven was… smiling.

"Rena sent me to check on you. She thought you wouldn't want to see her." Eve hurriedly dried her eyes. "Don't bother." Raven said, as he walked next to Eve and put his hand on her shoulder. "But, crying shows sadness. Sadness is an emotion. I don't-… shouldn't have emotions. I am-"

"A nasod. I know." He took his hand off her shoulder and sat next to her. "But there's nothing wrong with shedding a tear or two. I know I've shed my fair share…" He stared down at his Nasod arm, thinking back to the day Seris (Raven's fiancé) was murdered, and how, that same evening, the Nasods found him and changed his life forever. He closed his eyes, clenched his painful reminder's fist, and shed a single tear. "Nothing could have been worse that day; losing a piece of my humanity, losing the woman I loved…" he shook his head as and winced at the memory of her scream. "It was a nightmare…"

Eve sat quietly and stared at her knees. "Emotions, as I've seen them… are a curse." Eve said. Raven said nothing and kept staring at his clenched metal fist. "The only memories people seem to recollect are those that made them deeply hurt inside."

"Yeah… that is how it seems isn't it…" he sighed.

"Why is happiness broken so easily, and sadness and anger obtained even easier?"

There was a long pause. Raven knew Eve wanted an answer. She never asks rhetorical questions. Raven had the perfect answer. "It teaches us."

"Pardon?"

"Emotions teach us important lessons, define who we are. Our beliefs, our strengths, our weaknesses… these are things that emotions help us realize. Our pain keeps us from making the same mistakes so we can obtain happiness. My arm is a reminder of the greatest pain I have ever felt, but in a way, that pain is what keeps me going. I was too weak to protect Seris. And this arm reminds me of the pain that comes with not being strong enough to protect those who matter to you. This arm reminds me that I must grow stronger for my friends… and for myself. And I will use this arm to do just that. I will, at all costs, use my memory to keep me from swaying from my goal."

Eve stared at Raven and Raven was staring right back at her, smiling. "Protecting those who are close to me, compensating for my mistakes…" he put his normal arm around Eve, squeezing her slightly. Eve began to blush. "…that's all that matters to me now. And it's the knowledge that the people I'm trying to protect are cheering me on… that's where I find happiness."

Eve was now captivated by Raven. His golden eyes staring into hers, his gentle, reassuring smile… everything seemed so much better, so much clearer. Eve didn't know what to do or what to say. She decided to close her eyes and let her instinct take over. Soon after she closed her eyes, she felt something warm press against her lips. When she opened her eyes, she was bewildered. Her arms were wrapped around Raven in a gentle embrace, her lips pressed against his. She pulled away quickly. "M-My deepest apologies! I-I don't know what came over me!" She was blushing very hard. Raven chuckled a bit. "In what way is this humorous?" she asked confusedly. Raven just kept smiling, and pulled her back into another kiss. She flinched when their lips touched a second time. She slowly began to relax and take even more comfort in the feeling of his warm embrace. When they stopped kissing, Eve smiled bigger than she ever had before (which wasn't much). "T-Thank you… Raven…" She squeezed him tightly. "…I…love you…" Raven hugged her tightly as well. "I love you too, Eve. Shouldn't we get back to the inn now?"

"Yes. Let's…" She tried to get up, but stumbled a bit. "Are you okay?" Raven asked. "Yes… I'm fine-" She abruptly collapsed. "EVE!" Raven then noticed her eyes weren't glowing as brightly as usual. "System… overexertion… Energy level… low…" she said. "Well, what can I do?"

"Energy level too low… to walk… must recharge… entering sleep mode…" Eve spoke softly as her eyes slowly shut. He remembered that Eve hadn't eaten much that day, and because her primary source of energy was a close range wavelength from Ophelia and Oberon, her secondary battery was running on reserve. Her drones acted fast. The white drone linked to the node on her forehead, the black one linked to her chest. "SECONDARY CHARGE SEQUENCE INITIATED…" they said in unison. They began to very slowly recharge Eve. Raven looked down at Eve while she slept in his arms. "So peaceful and gentle…" he said, looking at her ivory face and cute blue markings on both her cheeks. "Guess I'll have to carry her back." He began to make his way through the woods, back to the inn.

~AT THE INN~

Aisha, with the help of Elsword, was cooking a large dinner. Since neither Rena nor Eve had lunch, a large dinner seemed best. Rena was busy patching up the wall, door, and floor that was blown apart throughout the day. Raven opened the door, at the exact moment Rena secured the last door hinge. "Oh! You're back! So what happened?" Aisha asked perkily. "I'll tell you later." Raven said. Elsword noticed Eve lying in Raven's arms fast asleep. "Whoa! Raven you sly dog! I didn't know you had a thing for robo-" Elsword was cut off by a swift uppercut from Raven's nasod arm, sending him flying through the roof. "DAMMIT RAVEN! I LITERALLY JUST FINISHED PATCHING UP THIS GODDAMN INN!" Rena screamed. "Oh, sorry." He said as Elsword came crashing down. Nobody even glanced at Elsword. By now, it didn't faze anyone anymore. "I'll help you fix it later."

"YOU are going to fix it ON YOUR OWN, RIGHT NOW!" She yelled.

She finally took notice of Eve in Raven's arms. "Goodness! What happened?"

"She's just a little tired. But she would call it 'depleted of energy.'"

"I see. Lay her down on the couch there. OBERON! OPHELIA!" Rena called.

"YES MISTRESS RENA?" They responded in unison.

"Eve needs to be recharged."

"AFFIRMATIVE." They both walked over to the couch. Eve's drones detached from Eve's body and clasped onto Oberon and Ophelia. Oberon placed his hand on Ophelia's forehead, and gave her a massive charge. Ophelia then placed her hand on Eve's forehead and basically jumpstarted Eve in the same way one jumpstarts a car. Eve sat up almost instantly. She blinked a lot as she took in her location. "Current Location: Inn. Confirm."

"Yeah, you're back at the inn." Raven said.

"How did I travel while inactive?"

"I carried you back."

"I see…" Eve stood up and smiled. She hugged Raven tightly. "You have my deepest thanks, Raven." Raven hugged her back. "Anytime."

"Dinner's ready!" Aisha called out. Everyone sat down to eat. Eve took a grand portion of what was spread on the table, as did Rena. They both ate quietly. Aisha and Elsword sat next to each other, as did Raven and Eve. After dinner, Raven fixed up the roof. And found Eve, once again asleep. "What happened?" Raven asked Oberon. "EXCESSIVE PHYSICAL DISTRESS CAUSED BY EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. ENERGY SUPPLIED BY US IS DIFFERENT THAN THE PERSONAL PHYSICAL ENERGY OF QUEEN EVE." He replied in monotone.

Raven sighed and carried Eve up to her bed. He pulled the covers up to just above her chest. A relieved sigh left Eve's mouth, bringing a smile to Raven's face.

"Good night… my dear princess." He kissed her forehead and left.

As he silently drifted off to sleep in his own bed, he thought to himself "_I will always love and protect her. No matter what…"_

His eyes shut and his mind went quiet.

_**~THE END~**_


End file.
